As Palestinians in Gaza continue to be starved and bombed by Israel, the U.S. has designated Yemen’s Ansar Allah group as terrorists in hopes of intimidating their resistance against Israel’s ongoing aggression.
Casualties
- 24,448+ killed* and at least 61,504 wounded in the Gaza Strip.
- 388+ Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
- Israel revises its estimated October 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,147.
- 549 Israeli soldiers killed since October 7, and at least 3,221 injured.**
*This figure was confirmed by Gaza’s Ministry of Health on January 16. Some rights groups put the death toll number at more than 31,000 when accounting for those presumed dead.
**This figure is released by the Israeli military.
Key Developments
- Occupied West Bank: Deadly military raid in Tulkarem continues for second day.
- UN: Every single person in Gaza is hungry, and a quarter are facing starvation
- PRCS: Two ambulance workers wounded by Israeli fire in the West Bank while trying to reach victims of air attack in Tulkarem refugee camp.
- U.S. designates Ansar Allah as a “terrorist” group for its attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
- $15bn needed to rebuild Gaza’s 350,000 homes after the war
- 300% increase in Gaza miscarriages since October 7
- At least 16 Palestinians, including children, killed in an Israeli shelling of a house east of Rafah.
- Medicine and aid entered Gaza for Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages as per Qatari-mediated deal.
- UNOCHA: Israeli missile strikes UNRWA health clinic in Daraj, in Gaza City.
- Gaza’s telecommunications blackout imposed by Israel enters seventh day.
Israel’s Genocide in Gaza Continues
Israel has withdrawn thousands of troops from Gaza following pressure from the United States to transition to a more surgical phase in the war, a decision that has left some Israeli officials concerned that the country will be vulnerable to renewed militant activity. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that “this war is continuing and will continue until the end, until we have hit all our goals.” Thomas Grove and Carrie Keller-Lynn report for the Wall Street Journal.
The Gaza Strip experienced a sixth consecutive day of a near-total communications blackout yesterday, leaving civilians unable to call for help and aid workers struggling to reach them as Israeli air strikes continued in the south. The territory’s largest telecommunications company, Paltel, said the blackout is the longest of several Gaza has experienced since the war broke out, this time arising due to damaged infrastructure in the city of Khan Younis. Anushka Patil and Adam Rasgon report for the New York Times.
Medicines and aid for Palestinians and Israeli hostages have entered the Gaza Strip, a spokesperson for the Qatari foreign ministry confirmed in a post on X. Two Qatari military aircraft carried 61 tons of aid, provided by France and Qatar, into Egypt on Wednesday. Jennifer Hauser reports for CNN.
Witnesses in the West Bank have accused Israel of targeting Palestinian civilians with no links to armed groups and who posed no threat to Israeli forces. Seven men, four of them brothers, were killed on Jan. 7 in an airstrike in Jenin. Witnesses provided strong evidence that the men were not members of militant groups and that Israeli forces were not clashing in the location at the time. Lucy Williamson reports for BBC News.
Israel said 235 people were taken hostage on Oct. 7, marking the first time a firm number has been announced.
An Israeli airstrike on a home killed 16 people, half of them children, in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, medics said today. Najib Jobain and Bassem Mroue report for AP News.
The chairman of the Palestinian Investment Fund, a state-owned corporation overseen by the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank, estimated at the World Economic Forum yesterday that it would cost at least $15 billion to rebuild destroyed housing units in the Gaza Strip. Jordyn Holman and Gaya Gupta report for the New York Times.
REGIONAL RESPONSE
Iran’s foreign minister yesterday blamed the United States and Israel for escalating regional tensions, saying that if Israel ended its war in Gaza, tensions on the border with Lebanon and in the Red Sea would fall. Matthew Mpoke Bigg reports for the New York Times.
The U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned yesterday at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he is “extremely worried about Lebanon,” saying “we cannot have in Lebanon another Gaza.” Chris Liakos reports for CNN.
INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
France rejected yesterday accusations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, with Stéphane Séjourné, France’s newly appointed foreign minister, saying, “To accuse the Jewish state of genocide is to cross a moral threshold. The notion of genocide cannot be exploited for political ends.” Aurelien Breeden reports for the New York Times.
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov pushed for “the creation of a Palestinian state” while speaking during his annual press conference today. Lavrov added, “Without this, whatever happens, we will see relapses of the violence that is now seen in Gaza.” Lavrov said he “hopes[sic] the Israeli state will come to this conclusion eventually” but recognized that was “unacceptable for Israel at the moment.” Anna Chernova and Jessie Gretener report for CNN.
U.S. RESPONSE
US-Israel rift deepens; Biden eyes post-Netanyahu era.
There is a growing divide between the Biden administration and Netanyahu, particularly intensified after Blinken’s visit to Israel. Netanyahu rejected most of Washington’s requests during the visit, except for refraining from attacking Hezbollah. American officials emphasized to Netanyahu that there is no military solution for Hamas, urging Israel to recognize this reality.
NBC reports that the Biden administration is exploring options beyond Netanyahu to achieve its regional goals. Additionally, the administration is actively collaborating with other Israeli leaders to prepare for a post-Netanyahu government.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday that the civilian suffering in Gaza is “gut-wrenching” and that U.S. officials have spoken with Israeli officials about their duty to minimize casualties and facilitate humanitarian aid. Blinken added, “The suffering we’re seeing among innocent men, women and children breaks my heart. The question is, what is to be done?” Matthew Mpoke Bigg reports for the New York Times.
The Israeli government did not link the return of Palestinian civilians to northern Gaza to the release of hostages held by Hamas during meetings with Blinken last week, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said yesterday. Before the meeting, the Israeli Defense Minister proposed that Palestinians should not be allowed to return home until all remaining hostages are free. Jennifer Hansler reports for CNN.
US says holding serious contacts for hostage deal; Senior officials in Israel say ‘don’t know of breakthrough
A shipment of medicine for dozens of hostages held by Hamas arrived in Gaza, part of a France-and-Qatar-mediated deal that marked the first agreement between Israel and Hamas since a weeklong cease-fire in November. The deal could bring respite to some of the roughly 100 hostages who remain in captivity, as well as to Palestinians in Gaza in desperate need of aid. But fighting still rages in many parts of the beleaguered enclave, and an end to the war — or the release of the hostages — seems nowhere in sight. A senior Hamas official said that for every box provided for the hostages, 1,000 boxes of medicine would be sent in for Palestinians. The deal also includes the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza residents. The agreement came 100 days into the conflict and as Hamas is still putting up resistance across Gaza in the face of one of the deadliest military campaigns in recent history. More than 24,000 Palestinians have been killed. Some 85% of the narrow coastal territory’s 2.3 million people have fled their homes, and the United Nations says a quarter of the population is starving. Israel has vowed to dismantle Hamas to ensure it can never repeat an attack like the one on Oct. 7 that triggered the war. Militants burst through Israel’s border defenses and stormed through several communities that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing around 250.
The United States is promoting a plan for the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip, to be spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, once Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is no longer in power, according to American television network NBC. According to the report, which is based on comments from multiple but unnamed senior officials from the Biden administration, Saudi Arabia and four additional Arab countries have agreed to be part of rebuilding postbellum Gaza, along with a “revitalized Palestinian Authority.” The Saudis have even agreed to normalize relations with Israel if the latter agrees to the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state. The officials also told NBC that “Netanyahu rejected the offer … telling Blinken that he’s not prepared to make a deal that allows for a Palestinian state.” The officials added that the Biden administration “is trying to lay the groundwork with other Israeli and civil society leaders in anticipation of an eventual post-Netanyahu government.”
US Senate Democrats weigh conditions on Israel aid
Schumer who does not back the initiative from progressive wing of the Democrat Party confirms effort is underway while Republicans demand change in Biden’s southern border policies before backing aid to Israel, Ukraine
Senate Democrats are discussing possible conditions that could be imposed on US aid for Israel, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters. The Biden administration had bypassed Congress twice to supply Israel with emergency aid after Republicans in the house refused his budget requests unless he accepted their demands on southern border policies. The president is also opposed by far-left members of his own party who disagree with the staunch support of Israel in its war against Hamas. Schumer does not support conditioning aid to Israel. He had met with a delegation of family members of hostages abducted from a military base to Gaza on October 7. Although the initiative to add conditions to the aid is not likely to pass, it can still have serious ramifications because the US does not impose such restrictions on trustworthy allies. Some, mostly from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party have suggested the US provide aid only after Israel takes concrete steps to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza, but the support for Israel in the party remains high. On the Republican side, the aid to Israel, as well as to Ukraine, has fallen victim to the fight over the US southern border crisis, and even long-time friends of Israel have said that they would only vote for funding for Israel if the president agrees to their demands to reverse policies there that they say have allowed unprecedented numbers of people, some of whom may pose a security threat to the US, especially amid the war in Gaza.
IRAN-PAKISTAN TENSIONS
Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Iran’s bordering province of Sistan-Baluchistan this morning in response to an Iranian airstrike in Pakistan on Tuesday aimed at Iranian insurgents, Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs said. Both states were careful to say they only targeted their own nationals in the strikes, indicating that neither wants the situation to worsen. Saeed Shah reports for the Wall Street Journal.
The Pakistani army is in a “perpetual state of readiness” after it carried out retaliatory strikes in Iran, its army said. The statement said they were targeting “terrorist organizations,” specifically the Balochistan Liberation Army and the Balochistan Liberation Front. BBC News reports.
Iran has admitted to carrying out a missile and drone strike on western Pakistan on Tuesday. Iran’s foreign minister said the attack targeted the militant group Jaish al-Adli, which he described as an “Iranian terrorist group” operating in Pakistan. Paul Adams and Carolien Davies report for BBC News.
IRAN-BACKED MILITANTS
Attacks by Iran-backed groups in the Middle East will not stop until Israel’s war with Hamas ends, Iran’s foreign minister said yesterday. “If the genocide in Gaza stops, then it will lead to the end of other crises and attacks in the region,” he said. Tamara Qiblawi reports for CNN.
Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah rejected Washington’s idea for de-escalating tensions with Israel, such as pulling its fighters from the border, but the group remains open to U.S. diplomacy to avoid a full-scale war, Lebanese officials said. Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily report for Reuters.
Houthi Response to Terrorist Designation: Houthi Attacks and U.S. Retaliation. The U.S. Central Command in the Middle East reported that around 8:30 PM Sanaa time on January 17, a drone launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen targeted the M/V Genco Picardy, a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship owned and operated by the United States, in the Gulf of Aden. The attack caused some damage but no injuries, and the vessel remains seaworthy, continuing its voyage.
Later, around 11:59 PM Sanaa time on January 17, U.S. Central Command forces struck 14 Houthi missiles in Yemen, ready for launch. General Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, stated, “The Iran-backed Houthis continue to endanger international mariners and disrupt commercial shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea and adjacent waterways. We will continue to take actions to protect the lives of innocent mariners and always protect our people.”
Following the global terrorist designation of the Houthis, their leader Mahdi Mohammed al-Mashat announced plans to classify entities and countries hostile to the Houthis, with a specific focus on Israel. The Houthis’ political bureau stated that the U.S. terrorist designation holds no practical value and pointed to an American-imposed economic blockade on Yemen. Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdul Salam deemed the U.S. designation unsurprising, accusing the U.S. of serving Israeli interests. The Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades supported the Houthis, calling the designation a prize for their honorable stance, while Hamas expressed solidarity with the Houthis against challenges, including a naval blockade on Israel. Conversely, Yemen’s legitimate government welcomed Washington’s decision, highlighting ongoing tensions in Yemen and the region.
Relatedly, recent reports in Russian and then Houthi and Iranian media reveal that the Houthis possess Soviet T-80BV tanks. Before the 2014 Houthi coup, the Yemeni army reportedly had about 700 T-54 and T-55 tanks, 200 T-62 tanks, 200 M60 tanks, 300 T-72 tanks, 100 T-80 tanks, and 100 T-90 tanks. The critical question is how many of these tanks remain operational, are under Houthi control, their combat capabilities, and usage, especially given the Houthis’ lack of air cover.
MILITARY CONFLICT WITH HOUTHIS
The United States struck Houthi military sites in Yemen for the fourth time in a week, the Pentagon’s Central Command said, in the latest exchange of fire between Washington and the Iran-backed militia. The strikes destroyed 14 missiles and their launches as the Houthis were preparing to fire them. Eric Schmitt reports for the New York Times.
The Houthis confirmed the latest round of U.S. airstrikes in Yemen yesterday, saying, “The American-British aggression renewed its targeting of a number of Yemeni governorates.” The group also asserted that the “operations” of its “naval forces in the Red and Arabian Seas will continue to target Israeli ships linked to the enemy entity.” The remarks follow the United States redesignating the Houthis as a specially designated global terrorist entity yesterday. Jonny Hallam reports for CNN.
.Clashes in Gaza and West Bank Escalate: Differing Perspectives from Israeli and Arab Media. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claim to have eliminated around 40 Hamas operatives near Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, as part of a series of operations. These included the IDF’s 7th Armored Brigade shelling Hamas gunmen and an elite Egoz unit raid on a Hamas operative’s home, resulting in weapon confiscations. The IDF eliminated Amed Abdullah Abu-Shalal, a key terror leader from the West Bank, in a drone strike. Abu-Shalal, responsible for multiple attacks and planning a significant imminent attack, was targeted near Balata refugee camp, with the IDF confirming casualties among its forces in northern Gaza. The operation’s success also revealed Iranian-backed terrorist infrastructure in Balata. The operation, based on intelligence, targeted the group en route to an imminent attack. Simultaneously, Arab media sources cite the Palestinian Shehab News Agency in reporting incidents in the West Bank, including explosions targeting Israeli vehicles in the Nour Shams camp, Tulkarm, and widespread Israeli raids across several cities.
Escalation on Israel-Lebanon Border: Drone Strikes and Hezbollah’s Infrastructure. Recent developments on the Israel-Lebanon border have highlighted a significant escalation in tensions. Israeli forces conducted a drone strike on a vehicle in Al-Khan Market near Kawkaba and shelled the outskirts of several towns in southern Lebanon, including Kawkaba and Yarin. Heavy machine gun fire was reported from Israeli positions into areas near Aita al-Shaab. This military activity coincides with ongoing Israeli reconnaissance over villages along the Litani River and adjacent to the Blue Line.
Simultaneously, the Alma Research and Education Center reported extensive attacks on Hezbollah’s military infrastructure in Wadi Saluki, which includes launch positions, weapon depots, and bunkers. Hezbollah, backed by Iran, has been reported to have a comprehensive military presence in southern Lebanon. Despite rejecting initial U.S. diplomatic efforts for de-escalation, Hezbollah has signaled a willingness to engage in diplomatic discussions to avoid further conflict, maintaining their stance on rocket attacks towards Israel in response to actions in Gaza. This complex situation underscores the fragility of the ceasefire in the region and the potential for broader conflict escalation.
First Israel-Hamas Deal Since November Delivers Medicine to Gaza Hostages and Civilians. Under a deal mediated by France and Qatar, the first since a November ceasefire, a shipment of medicine intended for both hostages held by Hamas and Palestinians in need of aid has arrived in Gaza. Despite the delivery bringing potential relief, ongoing conflict continues to affect the region, with no imminent resolution for the war or the hostages’ release. The news, announced by Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, marks a significant yet limited step in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Netanyahu Declines US Proposal for Saudi Normalization Linked to Palestinian Statehood Path. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a US offer, presented by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, for Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel in exchange for a path to Palestinian statehood. The proposal, part of US efforts to reshape the Middle East post-war, involved commitments from Saudi Arabia and other Arab leaders to aid Gaza’s reconstruction and support a reformed Palestinian Authority’s return. Despite Netanyahu agreeing not to attack Hezbollah and to permit UN assessments in Gaza, he was unwilling to consider Palestinian sovereignty, contrary to US aspirations for regional peace.
Escalation of Israeli Aerial and Artillery Strikes on Southern Lebanon. Lebanese media reported that on January 17, 2024, Israeli forces intensified their military actions in southern Lebanon, marking the most significant aerial and artillery offensive since October. This surge in hostilities followed extensive Israeli military drills, simulating an attack on Lebanon and affirming readiness for immediate action. The offensive involved 14 airstrikes and 30 missile strikes targeting Hezbollah’s military infrastructure. Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts continued, with Western diplomats urging Hezbollah to moderate its cross-border attacks, aiming to prevent an escalation. The conflict has resulted in over 190 deaths in Lebanon, including Hezbollah fighters and civilians, and casualties in northern Israel. Recent incidents include missile launches from Lebanon towards Israeli sites in Shebaa Farms and retaliatory Israeli strikes in various Lebanese areas, indicating escalating tensions and the potential for further conflict along the border.
Israel has become a liability for the West and its universal values
OSAMA AL SHARIF
Osama Al Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman.
Israel’s appearance at The Hague last Thursday to defend itself against South Africa’s charge of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip marked the most significant legal and diplomatic challenge facing the Jewish state since its inception more than seven decades ago. In a public hearing, South Africa’s legal team presented a solid legal document that outlined Israel’s breach of the Genocide Convention in its three-month-old war on Gaza. More importantly, the plaintiff debunked Israel’s claim that its actions in Gaza were justified as self-defense in retaliation for the events of October 7, which South Africa had condemned. And finally, using the hateful rhetoric of senior Israeli officials, South Africa proved intent.
By the admission of international and several Israeli experts, Israel’s attempt to debunk the charges against it was weak and unconvincing, considering the horrendous crimes its military had committed so far in the beleaguered Gaza Strip.
But Israel was not the only party on trial that day. Western governments that had backed and justified Israeli actions with no regard to documented breaches of international law were also present in the defendant’s corner, at least in spirit. Israel could not have carried out its genocidal war without the direct military and diplomatic backing of Washington, London, Paris, Ottawa, Berlin, and the EU. These Western governments and bodies enabled Israel, both politically and physically, to carry out one of the most atrocious onslaughts on a civilian population since World War II.
Making things worse, these governments ignored the genocidal statements uttered on an almost daily basis by Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and top Israeli officials. They raced to deny charges that Israel was deliberately targeting civilians, destroying hospitals, universities, schools, mosques, and churches, and applying a scorched earth policy in Gaza.
Washington and its allies rejected calls for a ceasefire, knowing fully that Israel was committing war crimes in Gaza, denying access to aid, bombing hospitals, and killing thousands of women and children. Despite the enormity of killings and scale of destruction, these governments shunned away from criticizing, not to mention denouncing, Israeli atrocities.
Even when millions around the world saw videos of horrific and unimaginable Israeli war crimes against hapless Palestinian civilians, including the rounding up of displaced men and children, parading them half naked in the streets of Gaza, and then moving them to undisclosed locations, Western officials continued to justify Israeli actions. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the genocide charges as “meritless,” while his British opposite, Lord David Cameron, said that the South African case against Israel was “unhelpful”. Germany stepped in to defend Israel at The Hague. This was happening even when millions in the West marched in support of Palestine while denouncing their governments’ complicity in the Gaza carnage.
While the world awaits the International Court of Justice (ICJ) response to a provisional ruling, as requested by South Africa, to stop the war until a final and binding verdict is reached, Netanyahu remains defiant, attacking the ICJ, South Africa and any party that accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
A ruling on this case will test the integrity of the ICJ and the credibility of the rules-based world order. The challenge for the judges is unprecedented. The defendant is Israel, the West’s closest ally and one that has incredible political sway in the most influential capitals. The case is highly politicized. If Israel is convicted of genocide, the case could then move to the International Criminal Court (ICC), where warrants for individuals directly or indirectly involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity will be issued.
If the court rejects the charges, what does that mean for international law and conventions? What would be the message the court would be sending to the rest of the world? And what would that mean for more than 30,000 killed and missing, more than 60,000 injured, and more than 1.8 million displaced with no home to go back to?
This case is a watershed for the world as we know it and the future of international laws and conventions. And why; because the West, led by the United States, has for decades allowed Israel to be above the law and enabled it to carry out its crimes against the Palestinians with impunity. This policy would have continued if Israel had chosen a low-intensity response to Hamas’ 7 October attack. But Netanyahu and his Far Right coalition, as well as a humiliated Israeli army, decided to decimate Gaza instead. This time, the crime was too big to cover up.
The reality is that Israel has long become a liability for the West, in particular the United States, which had crowned itself as the world’s sole superpower and the defender of democracy and universal values since the 1990s. And while it took it upon itself to unilaterally dictate an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Israel/Palestine Question, it looked the other way as Israel drifted to the far right under Netanyahu, destroying the two-state solution as it expanded illegal settlements, blockaded Gaza while appeasing Hamas at the expense of a weak and dysfunctional Palestinian Authority (PA), arming and supporting extremist Jewish settlers and carving up the West Bank.
Even before Israel launched its war on Gaza, its army and settlers had been attacking Palestinians in the West Bank daily, killing hundreds and arresting thousands. Washington and its allies ignored Israeli actions even though each extrajudicial killing, each attack by the settlers, and each demolition of homes is a breach of international law and the Geneva Conventions. Israeli war crimes, both in Gaza and in the West Bank, have been going on for decades. Western governments, using empty rhetoric, became apologists, then enablers, and finally accessories to Israel’s crimes.
The West must make a choice, a hard but necessary one, in the wake of the unforgiving Gaza genocide. It can continue its collusion with the likes of Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir, and Smotrich in the biggest crime against humanity this century, or it can tell Israel that it must become a normal state, one that abides by international laws and conventions, end its occupation, allow the Palestinians to have self-determination and pay for its crimes. Otherwise, Israel will become a pariah state subject to global sanctions and liability. Allowing Israel’s impunity for so long has damaged the West’s credibility and is threatening the world order, which is not at a tipping point. Israel’s exceptionalism must end, and it is up to the West to carry out that mission.
One other defendant on trial at The Hague is the Western mainstream media (MSM), which has failed terribly at its responsibility to cover the truth impartially and objectively. Social media has beaten the likes of BBC, CNN, The New York Times, The Times of London, and others in their own game. By ignoring the horrific reality in Gaza and by subscribing to Zionist propaganda in an attempt to mislead the public, they have done irreparable damage to themselves. They, too, stand as complicit in covering up war crimes and the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in Gaza. They stand discredited forever.
Israeli historian Ilan Papeh: 5 indicators of the beginning of the end of the Zionist project
Nahed Derbas Haif
The well-known Israeli historian, Professor Ilan Pappe, saw that there are indications of the end of the Zionist project, calling on the “Palestinian liberation movement” to prepare to fill the vacuum so that a long period of chaos does not prevail, as happened in Syria and other countries in the Arab world and North Africa.
Under the title: “The beginning of the end of the Zionist project,” the historian Babeh said, during a symposium held Saturday in the city of Haifa in the Palestinian interior, that the beginning of the end of this project is “a long and dangerous stage, and we will not talk about the near future unfortunately, but about the distant future, but we must be ready for that,” expressing his optimism that “we are in the beginning of the end of the Zionist project.” “We must be part of the efforts to shorten this period,” he said.
The Israeli historian, professor of the Faculty of Social Sciences and International Studies at the British University of Exeter, and the Director of the European Centre for Palestinian Studies, pointed to five indicators of the beginning of the end of the Zionist project, he believes:
The first is the “Jewish civil war we witnessed before last October 7, between the secular camp and the religious camp in the Jewish community in Israel.” He said that the secular society, mostly a European Jew, seeks an open liberal life, while it is ready to continue the repression of the Palestinians, although it is ready to give up parts of the occupied territories in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, while the opposite current is a “State of Judaea,” and grew up in the settlements established in the West Bank, and aspires to turn Israel into a racist Jewish religious state, pointing out that these two camps “will witness wars in the future, because “the cement that brings the two together is the security threat, but even this does not seem to work anymore, and it is failing in front of our eyes.”
The second indicator, according to Babé, is the unprecedented support for the Palestinian cause in the world and the readiness of most of those involved in the solidarity movement to adopt the anti-apartheid model that helped bring down this regime in South Africa, referring in this context to the Boycott and Divestment Movement (BDS) of Israel.
He said: “This is very important. In addition, Israel was framed as an apartheid state by respected NGOs such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and B’Tselem. I see that we are entering a new period with the shift of pressure from society to governments.”
The third indicator is related to the economic factor, as Pappe says it “has the highest gap between those who own and those who do not. Hardly anyone can buy a house, and every year many find themselves below the poverty line.” “Despite the huge spending on the war after October 7, and despite the support of the United States, there is a bleak vision for the future of Israel’s economic solidity,” he added.
The fourth indicator, according to the same historian, is “the army’s inability to protect the Jewish community in the south and north.” In this context, he said that “there are 120,000 displaced people from the north as refugees, all of them Jews in the Galileee, and there are no Palestinian refugees among them (..) After October 7, the government failed to provide assistance to the families of the dead and wounded.”
The latest indicator is the attitude of the new generation of Jews, including in the United States of America, which is unlike previous generations, “who, even while criticising Israel, believed that this country was an insurance against another Holocaust or waves of anti-Semitism.” He said: “This assumption no longer has the support of many of the younger generation of Jews. And quite a few of them are already active in the solidarity movement with Palestinians. This generation is leaving Christian fundamentalists as a key foundation for the future pro-Israel lobby, not a solid base for international legitimacy.”